Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Alto (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Alto. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Alto is located in Fond du Lac County.
To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Fond du Lac County: Calumet, Dodge, Green Lake, Sheboygan, Washington & Winnebago.
Below are the counties that are near Alto. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alto:
- Fond du Lac County (The home county of Alto)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Brandon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Brandon is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 845 people
- Fairwater
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairwater is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairwater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Ladoga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ladoga is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladoga
- Metomen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Metomen is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metomen
- West Rosendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- West Rosendale is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rosendale
- Rosendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rosendale is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,026 people
- Ripon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ripon is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,844 people
- Oakfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Oakfield is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,088 people
- Eldorado
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Eldorado is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Woodhull
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Woodhull is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodhull
- Byron
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Byron is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Fond du Lac
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Fond du Lac is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fond du Lac
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43,178 people
- North Fond du Lac
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- North Fond du Lac is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fond du Lac
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,059 people
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Friesland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Friesland is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friesland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Cambria
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cambria is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 748 people
- Englewood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Englewood is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Fall River
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Fall River is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,757 people
- Doylestown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Doylestown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Columbus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Columbus is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,117 people
- Otsego
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Otsego is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otsego
- Rio
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rio is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- Pardeeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
- Wyocena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wyocena is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyocena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Former names for Wyocena:
- Duck Creek
- Wiocena
- Dodge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Waupun
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Waupun is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waupun
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,271 people
- Atwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Atwater is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwater
- Fox Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fox Lake is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,440 people
- Burnett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Burnett is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Randolph
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Randolph is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,738 people
- Brownsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Brownsville is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
- Beaver Dam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Beaver Dam is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,303 people
- Kekoskee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kekoskee is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kekoskee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 891 people
- Minnesota Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Minnesota Junction is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota Junction
- Knowles
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Knowles is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowles
- Horicon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Horicon is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horicon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,680 people
- Mayville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mayville is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,829 people
- Lomira
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Lomira is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomira
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,454 people
- Green Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Utley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Utley is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utley
- Markesan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Markesan is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markesan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
- Green Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Green Lake is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 959 people
- Kingston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kingston is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Marquette
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Marquette is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquette
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Princeton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Princeton is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,166 people
- Berlin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Berlin is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,383 people
- Marquette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Germania
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Germania is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania
- Montello
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Montello is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montello
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,454 people
- Neshkoro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Neshkoro is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neshkoro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
- Glen Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Glen Oak is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Oak
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Wayne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wayne is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne
- Allenton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Allenton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
- Aurora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Aurora is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Waushara County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Rodney ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rodney is located in Waushara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
- Lohrville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lohrville is located in Waushara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lohrville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 389 people
- Redgranite
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Redgranite is located in Waushara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redgranite
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,111 people
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Pickett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Pickett is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickett
- Fisk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fisk is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisk
- Fitzgerald
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fitzgerald is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzgerald
- Black Wolf
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Black Wolf is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Wolf
- Point Comfort
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Point Comfort is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Comfort
- Omro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Omro is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,592 people
- Stony Beach
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Beach is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Beach
- Reighmoor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Reighmoor is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reighmoor
- Harbor Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Harbor Springs is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Springs
- Oshkosh
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Oshkosh is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshkosh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66,495 people
- Winneconne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Winneconne is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winneconne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alto, see our County-by-County Page for Alto.
Cemeteries Near Alto ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alto.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Alto - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alto covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Alton Reformed Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Oak Mound Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Calvary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brandon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- West Alto Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Forest Mound Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Union Prairie Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kelley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Round Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- State Prison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (273 more) ...
- Cattaraugus Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wedge Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fairwater Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<1>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alto had a population of 63 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
- Brandon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Brandon is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 845 people
- Fairwater
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairwater is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairwater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Ladoga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ladoga is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladoga
- Utley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Utley is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utley
- Atwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Atwater is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwater
- Fox Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fox Lake is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,440 people
- Oak Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Oak Center is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Center
- Markesan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Markesan is located in Green Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markesan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
- Rosendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rosendale is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,026 people
- West Rosendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- West Rosendale is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rosendale
- Ripon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ripon is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,844 people
- Fox Lake Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fox Lake Junction is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake Junction
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Burnett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Burnett is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Oakfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Oakfield is located in Fond du Lac County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,088 people
- LeRoy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- LeRoy is located in Dodge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LeRoy
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alto. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alto.
Newspapers Published in Alto ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alto.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alto, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alto.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Alto:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Fond du Lac County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbia County
- Dodge County
- Green Lake County
- Marquette County
- Washington County
- Waushara County
- Winnebago County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Alto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |